I will never forget a certain day sitting in P.E. Dance my sophomore year of high School. It was time to listen to announcements over the school intercom. I hardly ever paid attention to the teachers, let alone the announcements. On this particular day the announcement was to let the student body know who was nominated for Class favorites, etc. Normally I would have cared less but in my P.E. Dance class were many friends who hoped to be nominated. This was a class designed for girls interested in being a cheerleader or a member of the drill team. That's why we took the class and also to keep from being in regular P.E.. So sitting beside me was a bleach blonde, bright eyed, happy, happy, happy, cheerleader hopeful. You know the kind that smiles at everyone because they know try outs are soon and they need the popular vote, the geek and freak vote and whoever else in the school has a heartbeat vote?!! Well, she was sitting beside me. We got along and ate lunch together with a big group of girls just like her every single day. I remember she knew I was a Christ follower and she asked me to pray for her all the time and I did. She was a cheerleader in junior high so since she could already do her back hand springs, she was close to winning the prize. But she needed those votes! So she smiled and smiled and smiled and treated everyone GREAT! Sincere? Maybe. But she was only sixteen so I would not expect any different.

Okay so back to the nominations. First the sophomore guys were named and there were no surprises. My "cheerleader hopeful" friend sitting beside me had a boyfriend (of course) and he was named as a nominee. No surprise there! Then it was time for the sophomore girls nominees to be named. My friend was anxious. I think she even said, "That would be so cool if I got nominated too since "Fred" did too!" (Fred is a fictitious name of course) Obviously my friend wanted this nomination bad, real bad. And then it happened! The shock of my life! MY NAME WAS ANNOUNCED AS A NOMINEE FOR CLASS FAVORITE! Actually, my name was the FIRST name said over that big speaker!Probably because my name starts with the letter "A"! Of course my friend was nominated too, thank goodness. Instantly, we were given ballots. I wasn't even given the chance to smile bigger, talk to people I did not usually talk to or charm the halls of L.D. Bell High School. The voting was taking place right then and there! Quickly my friend looked at me and said, "I will vote for you and you vote for me. Then we would not be voting for ourselves." Oh the precious minds of sixteen year old girls! You can't get any smarter than that! So we voted for each other! The results would not be announced for another few days. I did not expect to win. In fact, I KNEW I would not win. If I did, something was wrong or rigged!

That night I remembering trying to go to sleep but couldn't because I kept wondering how on earth I got nominated. Surely someone made a mistake! I wasn't the cheerleader type, I just had cheerleader friends! Cheerleaders get nominated, NOT their friends! I was in Choir for crying out loud, I was known as a singer, NOT a looker! Singers don't get popularity awards! Needless to say, I did not win. But I was nominated and for a very insecure sixteen year girl, it felt good. Something was going right for me that year. It was my first year of High School and things seemed to be going my way. I ran for class council and got it! I ran for secretary of the Spanish club and got it! I even had a senior football player ask me out and he became my boyfriend. My low self esteem got a little better but I never felt worthy enough to be nominated for that silly award.

And that little story brings me to this! A blogging friend emailed me last night to tell me that I had been nominated for a blog award. I assumed she nominated me but she said she didn't. So some really sweet and gracious person decided to nominate me for a blog award. I managed to fall under the "Thought Provoking" category. I laughed when I saw that. Lately my posts have been about pregnancy or my children. Now that I have a newborn and I am a mommy of three, my mind is a little consumed and I can't seem to find anything thought provoking to write about. Knowing that I am nominated for provoking thoughts sure lights a fire under my butt! Maybe those thoughts will come back when I start getting sleep again. Will that ever happen?!

There are many blogs out there that have a sidebar full of awards, deserving awards and they display them proudly. So I talked it over with my husband and felt that it would be okay to share this blogging honor with you by letting you know I have been nominated. I contemplated on displaying the little banner (that's another story as to why) and decided to go ahead. The truth is, I feel blessed and honored that anyone would think of me. I am honored, so honored.

Of course I have grown in the last sixteen years and as the age of thirty-one gets closer and closer, I realize I don't have to be a class favorite. I am probably way too opinionated for that but it's nice to be recognized. It's a nice bonus for a gal changing poopy diapers all day, wondering when and if she will get to brush her teeth before the day's end, to be recognized for something. If this is as close to the red carpet I get, I will take it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm looking for the perfect dress!